Animal models of alcohol withdrawal.
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: One diagnostic criterion of alcohol dependence is the appearance of a withdrawal syndrome when alcohol consumption ceases. Researchers have used various animal models, including isolated brain cells, slices of brain tissue, and intact animals, to study the mechanisms and manifestations of withdrawal. Results from these experimental studies have demonstrated that many consequences of withdrawal found in animals resemble those observed in humans. Such signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal include enhanced activity of the autonomic nervous system; body posture and motor abnormalities; hyperexcitability of the central nervous system, including sensory hyperreactivity; convulsions; anxiety; and psychological discomfort. Researchers also have used animal models to study the electrophysiological correlates of withdrawal, as well as neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcohol dependence and withdrawal.
Source: PubMed Central
Author: H C Becker
Institution: Medical University of South Carolina
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1601824490